Anatomy of a Grant Proposal
So you’ve found a grant that could provide the funding for your project. Now it’s time to write a fundable grant proposal, but where do you start? Grant writing can be intimidating, but here’s a short break down of the key pieces of a grant proposal and articles to get you started.
Executive Summary
The executive summary is a snapshot of your entire proposal. It concisely identifies the problem or need your organization faces and how it will be addressed by the proposed project. A brief explanation of your funding requirements and a description of your organization should also be included.
Needs Statement
The needs statement answers the question: Why should I care? It should identify the problem or need your project will address. You can use statistics along with real-life examples to fully illustrate the problem. The Center for Nonprofit Excellence’s Grant Writing Toolkit: The Needs Statement dissects the needs statement and provides tips for writing and winning one.
Description of Project
Here’s where you get really specific with your objective, methods, staffing/administration needs, evaluation methods, and sustainability. Proposal Writing Short Course from The Foundation Center gives a good overview of how to tie all of these elements together.
Project Budget/Budget Justification
The numbers matter. A project budget should add up perfectly and not be inflated just to maximize the grant. A poorly written budget can ruin an otherwise good proposal. Charity Channel Press’ Building Fundable Budgets has tips for writing a fundable a budget.
Conclusion
Tie it all together with a good conclusion. Reiterate the goals of your project and why it’s important.
All of these key pieces make up a fundable proposal. Visit the Articles section of the GetEdFunding website for more grant-writing resources.
